Apple engineer warned Jobs about iPhone 4 antenna problems

It did seem a little strange that no one inside Apple figured out that there were going to be reception issues before the iPhone 4 was launched. I mean, these things are tested, tested some more, and then re-tested for every conceivable scenario before the final design gets sent to the manufacturers.

And sure, Apple is famously a tight-lipped company, but the idea that this design flaw just ‘slipped’ through testing was a bit too much.

Turns out, someone did figure it out. Way before shipping started, very early in the design phase.

An Apple insider now claims that Ruben Caballero, a senior engineer and antenna expert for Apple, warned Steve Jobs that if the design remains the same, there will be serious reception problems.

Moreover, a carrier partner also identified the issue before the June 24 launch and voiced concerns to Apple.

This is, in a way, good news. Let me explain. It’s good to know that in a company as big as Apple, such easy-to-spot design mistakes did not, in fact, go unnoticed. That the CEO and the board decided not to care about them is, of course, another matter.